Up to 55 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Games on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com; Begins May 30

ESPN360.com to Simulcast Every ESPN & ESPN2 Telecast for First Time; Every College World Series Game Offered in High Definition; and SportsCenter On-Site

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will televise up to 55 games of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship from May 30 to June 25, including complete coverage from two Regionals and all eight Super Regionals sites and every College World Series game.  For the first time, ESPN360.com will simulcast every ESPN and ESPN2 telecast (up to 29 games).

For the sixth straight year, ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise the entire Men’s College World Series (June 14-25), including the best-of-three Series Final, with every game in high definition on ESPN HD or ESPN2 HD.  Noteworthy production elements during College World Series telecasts will include the use of O.A.R.’s new song This Town (off their new album All Sides to be released July 15) throughout the coverage, an on-field handheld camera, umpires wearing microphones and “People of Omaha” vignettes (details are below).

In addition, six of the eight analysts working the Regionals and Super Regionals have played in the College World Series: Barry Larkin (Michigan), Robin Ventura (Oklahoma State), Kyle Peterson (Stanford), Phil Nevin (Cal-State Fullerton), Eduardo Pérez (Florida State) and Keith Moreland (Texas). 

• Regionals: For the fourth consecutive year, ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, will offer complete coverage of two Regionals sites (May 30-June 2), beginning with four games on Friday, May 30:
• Each site will feature four teams competing in a double-elimination format and each site winner (a total of 16 sites) will advance to the Super Regionals. 
• Dave Cohen will call games from the Coral Gables site with Brian Jordan as analyst.  Clay Matvick and Peterson will work games from the Fullerton site. 

• Super Regionals: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com will combine to televise every game of the eight best-of-three Super Regionals site (up to 24 games) June 6-9:
• Up to eight of ESPN and ESPN2’s possible 12 windows will feature two games and whip-around to the best action from both games for viewers in most of the nation (except in the home market of the competing teams where the game of local interest will be the primary telecast). 
• ESPNU will televise four games.  
• Each Super Regionals winner will advance to the College World Series.  
• Coverage will feature eight commentator teams (site assignments are to be determined): Karl Ravech, in his first season calling NCAA Baseball games, and Robin Ventura; Eric Collins and Barry Larkin; Dave Ryan and Buck Showalter; Matvick and Peterson; Dave Barnett and Phil Nevin; Pam Ward and Keith Moreland; Cohen and Jordan; and Jim Durham and Eduardo Perez. 

• College World Series: For the sixth straight year, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN360.com will combine to televise the entire College World Series (up to 17 games), including the best-of-three College World Series Finals.  ESPN’s 29th consecutive year of coverage will begin June 14 and conclude June 25. 
• Every ESPN and ESPN2 game will be offered in high definition on ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD.
• For the first time, all three games of the Championship Series will be televised live in primetime Monday, June 23 to Wednesday, June 25.
• Commentator teams include Mike Patrick, Orel Hershiser and Erin Andrews; Sean McDonough, Larkin and Peterson; and Ravech with analyst Ventura. 
• Patrick will call the Championship Series with Hershiser, Andrews and Peterson.

SportsCenter

In addition to game coverage, Karl Ravech will provide live segments from Rosenblatt Stadium for SportsCenter June 16-18.

College World Series Production Elements

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN360.com’s coverage of the Men’s College World Series will feature several notable production elements: 

• The single This Town from popular band O.A.R.’s new album All Sides (released July 15) will be utilized throughout the coverage.

• Similar to ESPN’s Major League Baseball coverage, ESPN and ESPN2 will utilize an on-field handheld camera on College World Series telecasts for the third year.  The handheld camera will bring viewers closer to the action with in-game live shots of home run celebrations, head coaches’ trips to the mound, batters in the on-deck circle and more.

• Every umpire will wear a microphone for live and short turn-around audio, capturing the sounds of the game from all angles on the field.

• Each game will include “People of Omaha” vignettes highlighting the people in and around the College World Series host city: the organ player at Rosenblatt Stadium, the retired PA announcer, the groundskeeper, long-time ticket holders, etc.

NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Schedule

ESPNU Regionals Schedule

 * If necessary

Super Regionals Schedule

* If necessary

** ESPN and ESPN2 will showcase two games within one window and “whip-around” to the best action from those games in most of the nation.  Viewers in the home markets of the competing teams will receive their local game in its entirety with constant updates from the other game.

+ If only one if necessary game out of four, it will be televised at 7 p.m.

College World Series Schedule

Date              Time (ET)     Network                   Game     Matchup                                     Commentators

Every ESPN and ESPN2 College World Series telecast will be presented in high definition on ESPN HD and ESPN2 HD

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